SWAPO leads preliminary vote count in Namibia’s elections

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Luanda, Angola – Early results from Namibia’s parliamentary and presidential elections show the ruling SWAPO party leading with just over 40% of the vote in the legislative race, while its presidential candidate, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, trails slightly below 50%. The elections, held amid logistical challenges, aim to restore SWAPO’s two-thirds parliamentary majority lost in 2019. In the southern district of Aranos, SWAPO secured 37% of the vote, the highest for any single party, though 63% of the ballots were split among 20 opposition parties.

In the presidential race, Nandi-Ndaitwah garnered 38% of the total vote, followed by Bernadus Swartbooi of the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) with 28%. The results reflect SWAPO’s ongoing struggle in southern regions, where it lost significant ground to the LPM in previous elections. Meanwhile, voting continued in some areas on Sunday due to logistical delays.

In the Erongo region, home to key cities like Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, initial results indicate that the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) are poised to retain their stronghold, maintaining control won in the 2020 local elections. However, in Arandis, the results were mixed, with SWAPO leading in some sections but trailing in others. The vote count continues, as Namibia awaits the final results.